Well, it is a wonderful privilege to be
at home and to worship and to enjoy
the Lord together, isn't it?
We were away for a few days this
week and playing with number one grandson, and
so it's nice to be home for a
rest.
We want to spend a few moments in
Ruth chapter three, and so if you have
your Bible and you want to follow along,
that would be great.
And as we're getting situated there, I want
to just mention a couple of things.
One is simply that we have a group
going to South Africa in August.
Some people would say we're going at the
wrong time because the World Soccer Cup is
on there at the moment, but the South
African churches are working hard to evangelize the
nations who were there for that event, and
our opportunity comes to bring the gospel to
a province called the Northwest Province, August 13
through 20.
I mention it because I want to encourage
you as a church to pray for those
who are going, and also as the Lord
may lead you just to give and to
help them to get there as well.
Second thing I want to mention is we
have an opportunity this fall if anyone's interested
in studying Hebrew right here in Regina with
a local rabbi to teach us Hebrew.
So if you're interested in that, you could
just let me know and we'll add your
name to the list, and so we'd be
able to enjoy that together.
And we come to Ruth chapter three, and
we'll spend a few moments in it before
we meet together at the Lord's table.
And they're just 18 verses.
I'm going to read the chapter, and I'm
just going to comment briefly on two or
three things from it as we continue our
studies in this book.
It says, Then Naomi, her mother-in-law,
said to her, My daughter, shall I now
seek security for you that it may be
well with you?
Now Boaz, whose young women you were with,
is he not our relative?
In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at
the threshing floor.
Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself and put
on your best garment and go down to
the threshing floor, but do not make yourself
known to the man until he has finished
eating and drinking.
Then it shall be when he lies down
that you will notice the place where he
lies, and you shall go in, uncover his
feet, and lie down, and he will tell
you what you should do.
And she, Ruth, said to her, All that
you say to me I will do.
So she went down to the threshing floor
and did according to all that her mother
-in-law instructed her.
After Boaz had eaten and drunk and his
heart was cheerful, he went to lie down
at the end of the heap of grain,
and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and
lay down.
Now it happened at midnight that the man
was startled and turned himself, and there a
woman was lying at his feet.
He said, Who are you?
So she answered, I am Ruth, your maidservant.
Take your maidservant under your wing, for you
are a close relative.
Then he said, Blessed are you of the
Lord, my daughter, for you have shown kindness,
shown more kindness at the end than at
the beginning, in that you did not go
after young men, whether rich or poor.
Now, my daughter, do not fear, for I
will do for you all that you request.
For all the people of the town know
that you are a virtuous woman.
Now it is true that I am a
close relative.
However, there is a relative closer than I.
Stay this night, and in the morning it
shall be that if he will perform the
duty of a close relative for you, good,
let him do it.
But if he does not want to perform
the duty for you, then I will perform
the duty for you, as the Lord lives.
Lie down until morning.
So she lay at his feet until morning,
and she arose before one could recognize another.
Then he said, Do not let it be
known that a woman came to the threshing
floor.
Also, he said, Bring the shawl that is
on you and hold it.
And when she held it, he measured six
ephahs of barley and laid it on her.
And then she went into the city.
When she came to her mother-in-law,
she said, Is that you, my daughter?
Then she told her all that the man
had done for her.
And she said, These six ephahs of barley
he gave me.
For he said to me, Do not go
empty-handed to your mother-in-law.
Then she said, Sit still, my daughter, until
you know how the matter will turn out.
For the man will not rest until he
has concluded the matter this day.
Lord, we just pray that you would encourage
our hearts with your word.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Now, it's, I guess, three weeks since we
looked at Ruth chapter two.
So very quickly, let's just think about the
fact that this Lady Ruth came back to
the country of her mother-in-law, Naomi.
And so she's a foreigner in the land.
And as Jim and Ruth reminded us, there
are times when y'all can have different
customs and y'all can have different ways
of saying things.
And, you know, it's kind of tough sometimes
to fit in.
Ruth, as a widow, has the right under
Hebrew law to go to a near kinsman
and to ask that kinsman to be her
redeemer, to be the one who marries her,
who raises children to her dead husband.
That's part of the Mosaic law.
And, you know, that would sure change things
in courtship, wouldn't it?
You can picture one brother going out with
somebody and the rest of the family find
out, and he comes home and they say,
are you really seeing this lady?
And he says, yes, I am.
And they say, well, we'd like to talk
to you because we don't like her.
And if you get bumped off, you know,
we're in line of succession here.
Don't you think that might change things a
little bit?
Different.
But Ruth has the right to go to
Boaz, but, you know, thus far she hasn't
done it.
And the reason that she hasn't done it
is that she lacks assurance.
As a foreigner, she's not sure.
She's heard about this law, but she's not
sure.
And, you know, there comes a time in
every believer's life, too, where there are things
that cause us to be unsure.
And this morning, in our few moments before
we come to this table, good for us
just to take a lesson from this chapter
in Ruth.
Because, you see, sometimes when we come to
this table, we're not sure.
Should I take communion?
Should I not?
Am I welcome, really, at this table, or
am I not?
And so this thing of assurance, it's important,
isn't it?
And we don't do a lot of things
because of a lack of assurance.
For instance, people oftentimes won't say a word
for Jesus in various settings and situations because
what if they ask me something that I
don't know?
And there's no assurance, and there's no forward
moving with the Lord.
So as we think about these few verses
just for a few moments, let's just see
what does God do in bringing assurance to
Ruth's life and to yours and mine as
well.
And let me just say, he uses Naomi,
and this is just a quick comment, to
help her understand what to do.
Because that's often the question, too, isn't it?
I might know that something's right to do,
but how to do it?
What to do?
So Naomi gives her instruction.
But when she comes to Boaz in this
chapter, first thing I want you just to
think with me about is that she receives
his promise.
And you'll find that both in verse 11
and in verse 13.
Twice he promises, I will do all that's
necessary.
And you got to love that because when
you think about this table, we're talking about
meeting one who has done all that is
necessary for you and for me in life
and forgiveness, the gift of eternal life, in
all those issues.
He says, I'll do all.
She came to him asking simply.
He receives her just the way that she
is.
She has no visible means of support.
She's not, quote, a mover and a shaker.
But he says, isn't that what the hymn,
old hymn says, just as I am without
one plea.
And here is an exact illustration of it.
He has no reluctance to do his part.
And if you don't get anything else out
of this 15-minute message this morning, just
think on this.
Jesus has no reluctance to do his part
for you and indeed for me.
She does not doubt his word.
His position is acknowledged in verse 12.
He says that he is a close relative,
but there's one closer.
And so he's taking his responsibility.
And he's going to be the one to
work it through for Ruth.
So she receives his promise.
And as you think about the promises of
Scripture, just think this morning that Jesus gives
his promise to you and me.
And I've been a few times when I
have been at the bedside of someone who
is not very long to be in this
world.
And it is an amazing thing just to
be able fully and completely to say, are
you trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior?
Yes, pastor, but you know I've let him
down.
And it's so good to say, but he
won't let you down.
Isn't that the essence of this promise?
And isn't that the very essence of this
table?
Remembering his death until he comes.
And so we see that she receives his
promise.
The second thing is that she rests in
his work.
You say, now, John, why do you say
that?
Well, when we see verses 14 and 15
and so on, he is working already on
her behalf.
He says, listen, you need to slip out
of here before somebody realizes a woman was
in this man's place.
But don't go empty-handed, and so on.
He is already working on her behalf and
indeed for her.
She is resting in his work.
I love what Jesus does, and Boaz is
an illustration of it here.
Ruth is headed toward a new name and
a new position and new responsibilities.
And we have a bunch of new members
from last week, and you remember all the
new things we talked about in those membership
classes and so on.
And a new family and a new relationship.
You know, it's a great thing to be
in love.
It's a marvelous thing to be in love.
It kind of gets me up in the
morning and keeps me going through the day.
And it's a wonderful thing as you think
about this love story and how it is
unfolding.
And, you know, as she is resting in
his work, her only part was to come
in obedience and to come humbly, realizing her
need, and just to come there to his
feet.
She couldn't change her circumstances.
She couldn't change her identity.
Couldn't change anything.
But he, he's going to change it all,
and she can rest in his work.
Are you carrying some burdens this morning?
You know we have a Savior who is
so able.
He has said, I'll never leave you.
I'll never forsake you.
He has said through Philippians 1, 6, that
he will complete the work that he has
begun.
Now, I don't know about you, but there
are times when I grow a little on
the lazy side.
Shocking, I know.
And I back off when I shouldn't.
But this enthralls my heart to know that
even in the low times and the times
of failure and the times when I'm not
as close to him as I should be,
he is still doing his work.
And he will complete it until the day
of Jesus Christ.
Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful Savior we have
in him.
Thirdly, would you just notice quickly with me
that she rests in him.
She has his promise.
She knows he's going to work.
But there's a trust factor person to person
here.
You could know if I was a good
brain surgeon that I have the ability and
the training and all of those things and
so on.
But if I never met with you, and
the surgeon never came and looked you in
the eye and said, this is going to
be okay.
I've done this 300 times or whatever.
You wouldn't feel a deep sense of trust
going into that cold OR, would you?
But you see, there is this sense of
she's resting not just in his work, but
in him.
And that's the love story that's developing.
You see how the Lord develops that kind
of love in your heart and mind, too.
And as we think about this table, we
think about the love of Christ, don't we?
Just notice that she does not continue to
struggle.
She's there when he wakes up at midnight,
and he's startled and speaks to her and
tells her what to do.
And there isn't one more word out of
Ruth.
Amazing.
She's not Irish.
My mother used to say I was vaccinated
with a gramophone needle.
There's not another word.
There's no more struggle.
She's just resting in him.
Lay there at his feet until the time.
Sit still.
In church, there are times when Jesus says
to us, sit still.
Glencairn, we have fussed over land and buildings
for a long time, and my advice to
you is take a lesson from Ruth 3
and lie at his feet and let him
do it.
And we'll know beyond a shadow of a
doubt that it's him.
But notice that he did not rest, and
he will not rest until he's accomplished all
his work in your heart and mind.
He's going to go out, as we'll see
next week on Father's Day.
He's going to go and work all things
through to the right conclusion.
So very quickly, so that we have time
to meet the Lord at his table, let
me just bring some practical applications from these
verses.
First, in the darkest hour of life, there
is someone to go to.
There's a place just to lay it all
down.
It's the place of the cross.
This table is a good place to lay
down the burdens and the dark times.
There's a place of comfort and encouragement for
us.
When we walk in obedience and faith, he's
promised to give us rest.
Let me go quickly over to Psalm 37
and verse 7 and just read it.
Think upon these words.
Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for
him.
Do not fret because of him who prospers
in his way, because of the man who
brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger and forsake wrath.
Do not fret.
It only causes harm.
I wish I had a copy of it
this morning, and I wish I had time
to read it if I did have a
copy of it this morning.
But maybe you got on the internet some
time ago, the same thing I did, about
the guy on the building site, and he
was sending up bricks in a big bucket,
and the pulley sort of was the instrument
that he was using, and as he pulled
the bricks up, and then the bucket was
empty, he was too heavy on the end
of the rope, and he got to make
a trip up to the pulley, and things
just went from bad to worse for this
guy, until he has just about every bone
in his body broken.
Makes me think about this rest, because sometimes
the more I try to fix it, the
more I dig it deeper, and the worse
it gets.
You know, her past is not mentioned here
as another application I just bring in.
Forgiven.
Her future is promised, and she's forgiven.
One of the great things about relationships is
that if you want to keep the war
going between husbands and wives, or fathers and
mothers and children, just bring up the past.
I'm so thankful that when we come to
this table, we come to one who keeps
no record.
It's washed in the blood of Calvary's Lamb.
Sin is dealt with as it needs to
be and cleansed.
And the last application I just make very
quickly, and I always warn you when I
stop preaching and start interfering, so this is
a warning.
Many, many times we see marriages and relationships
that struggle.
And I'm glad my wife is praying for
me this morning as I say this.
The problem is that Ephesians 5 tells us
what to do, but we want to take
the wrong part of it.
It says, wives submit to your husbands.
Okay guys, this is your moment of woo
-hoo, but that's not your verse.
That's addressed to women.
And many times it's used as an excuse
not to be the head of a house,
but to be the dictator of a house,
and that's not God's plan.
I'll show you God's plan in just one
minute.
It goes on to say, husbands love your
wives as Christ loved the church and gave
himself for it.
Ladies, that's your moment to go, but that
verse is written to husbands, not wives.
You see, here's a picture in Ruth chapter
3.
I want you just to see this as
application.
The Lord in his plan asked each to
do the same thing, but in a different
way.
Ruth comes and lays at his feet.
That's submissive.
That's submission, isn't it?
She's laying at nine.
She's saying, I'm setting it all aside.
It's you.
And Boaz says, I undertake to care for
you.
I undertake to do all that's required.
That's sacrifice.
So one gives up all to God and
says, I'll submit, and the other gives up
all to God and says, I'll sacrifice.
Life won't be about what I want.
My household won't be about what I desire.
It'll be about what God says.
You see it?
Both sat down there, right, and live in
the will of God.
All my friends, how much trouble and strife
would be avoided if we knowingly and willingly
would just set it down and say, in
the words of Jesus, not my will, but
yours.
Father, thank you for your word.
Thank you, Lord, for the things that you
show us within it.
But Lord, we need the working of your
Spirit to bring us to a place of
obedience and surrender.
And as we come in these moments now
to meet you at the Lord's table, we
come, Father, just seeking your Holy Spirit to
continue to touch us and to minister to
us in Jesus' name.
Let me ask Pastor Brad and our elders
to come and just join me in these
moments.
You know, when you think about this table,
so much wonderful Christian doctrine is incorporated in
it.
The doctrine of repentance of sin is here
because we are told so clearly before we
come to the table to examine ourselves and
to confess our sin to the Lord.
None of us have lived this past week
perfectly, and so let's take a moment and
just quietly come before the Lord in personal
prayer and ask, Spirit of God, search my
heart.
Help me know the things to confess to
you.
Lord, your word says that if we confess
our sin, you are faithful and just to
forgive us our sin and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
And so, as we come before you, we
indeed acknowledge those things that you have brought
into our hearts in these moments, and we
thank you for the gift of forgiveness as
we confess our sin before you.
We accept this gracious gift, even as it
is offered in love.
I'm going to ask Pastor Brad if he
would lead us in prayer for the bread
before we partake together.